Let's Get Crazy
by LovingSeleneTheVamp
Summary: AU. Lilly lives in LA, goes to school in LA, and does everything you can do in LA. She might not know it, but the only thing she's missing is love. And then there's the new girl, Miley. Who knows what could happen? Eventual Liley. Rated M for language.
1. Not That Bad

Well hello my lovely readers. I know I haven't written anything for a while, but here's a story that just kind of hit me. I promise promise promise, that I will update Nobody's Perfect tonight or tomorrow. Keep in mind, nobody's perfect.

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"Lilly? Lilly are you awake?" I heard my mom's voice echoing up the stairway. "Lilly?" It became louder as her feet made an angry, noisy path up the silent, under-appreciated, stomped on stairs.

I rolled onto my back just as my door opened. "I'm up." I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

"You're awake, you're not up. Now hurry up, you're almost late."

"What time is it?" I asked lazily, slowly sitting up.

"About seven-thirty."

"Shit." I muttered, throwing off the covers and jumping up nimbly from my bed towards my dresser. Oliver would be here to pick me up in less than ten minutes.

"What did you just say?" My mother asked indignantly.

"Nothing." I breathed out my attitude in a huffy sigh. "Can you just get out of my room so I can change?"

"Don't speak to me like that." She ran a hand through her hair. "And make your bed." She added, as if wanting to make sure she was in control of the situation. She shut the door and her footsteps slowly faded away back down the stairs. I hurried over to my dresser and started yanking open drawers and pulling out clothes. I went through shirt after shirt and pants after pants before finally deciding to settle on a pair of long, baggy cargo shorts and a crumpled white v-neck with a black Chinese style dragon that wrapped up one side of my torso and breathed fire down the other. I slipped into my low cut converse and made my way to the mirror. I looked at my reflection for a moment, and decided the messy, almost unkempt look of my hair was perfect for the way I felt, and even better for school. I shook my head a bit, ran my fingers quickly through my hair, and deemed it worthy for school.

I grabbed my bookbag and slung it over one shoulder, then dashed down the stairs. On the table was a plate with toaster strudels on it. They were stacked on each other, with the icing in between, just how I like it. I shoved them in my mouth as fast as I could. No sooner had I swallowed the last gulp of my orange juice than I heard a honk outside.

"Bye mom!" I hurried to kiss her on the cheek before I left.

"Bye hun, have a good day." She said, putting my dishes in the sink.

I bounded out the door, landing myself in the passenger seat of Oliver's beautiful cherry red Mustang. " Hey, Lils." He had his arm around the back of my seat, and drove with one hand.

"How ya doing Ollie?"

"Pretty good, pretty good." He started driving, speeding as usual. "Wanna hang out after school?"

"Sure. What're we doing?"

"There's a music festival next school district over. They're calling it 'The Next Warped Tour.'"

"I doubt that."

"Same. But let's go check it out anyway."

"Alright, but you're going to pay for me to get in."

"Fine, fine. I can handle a few extra bucks." He took his hand from behind my seat and used it to adjust his hat, so the bill was crooked and facing up again. We hit a red light. He looked into the next lane, where Amber and Ashley had just pulled up in Amber's brand new Escalade, and they pointed and laughed at us. I never understood why they thought Oliver's car was funny. He had been saving for it since he was 16, and his mom caved and split the cost with him for his 18th birthday. It was the '07 model, one of the most impressive cars I'd ever seen. But they believed themselves to be so much better than us. The light turned green and Oliver sped up, proving why his was a true muscle car, leaving them behind.

A few minutes later Oliver was pulling the car into the school parking lot when we were almost taken out by a black stretch limo that was also pulling in. "Asshole!" Oliver yelled out the window, though it did him no good. The limo driver's windows were up.

"Watch yourself Oaken!" The principal shouted back from the other side of the limo, where he stood on the sidewalk. He reached and opened the limo door. "Welcome to our school Mr. Ryan!" He exclaimed.

"Jesus fucking Christ. His first day and the principal is already his slave." I murmured. We'd known Jake Ryan was to be a student at our school, I mean who didn't? I was far from excited.

"Yeah, I know. Fine public school teachers my ass." He pulled into a spot near the end of the parking lot. We locked the doors and got out. "Come on, let's get our asses inside before we end up with another detention." He slung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close.

"Oh I know. If I end up sitting through another lecture about the perfect student, I'm going to kill someone."

"Me too." He paused. "Who is she?"

"The interest in his voice made me turn. "Who?"

He pointed with his free arm. "Her."

The girl he was pointing at looked hopelessly timid. Her bright blue eyes were wide open, it seemed as if in fright. Her lips were pursed, and her long, wavy hair was blowing gently around her in the breeze. She pulled gently on the end of her hair and drew her bag closer to her. It seemed as if she was steeling herself to go inside. "She's definitely new."

"Yea." The warning bell rang. "Oh jeez. Now we have to hurry." He led the way to homeroom.

Lunch that day found Oliver lying across a bench while I played with his hair. There's just so much of it, I can never help myself. "Damn I need a smoke." He mumbled, looking up at me.

"Oh, do not give me that look. You know I quit months ago." Aside from every once in a while when I was nervous.

"I know, I was just hoping you'd unquit."

"Not a chance."

Just then, Jake Ryan walked in. I rolled my eyes. "Have no fear, Jake is here." He announced.

"Is he for serious?" I mumbled down towards Oliver. No sooner had I finished my question than everyone in the room either, started to clap, came running to Jake, or called him to sit with them. A particularly rowdy group of boys began to chant. It sounded like they were saying, "Say the line! Say the line!" Jake was quick to oblige.

"Dude." Everyone was silent. "I slayed you once." He paused for dramatic effect, and the crowd waited with bated breath. "Don't make me slay you again." They erupted into overzealous cheers. Idiots.

"Hey." Oliver sat up. "There's that girl again." And, sure enough, there was the new girl coming out of the lunch line.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go get her." He hopped up and jogged over to her, the chain on his jeans jingling the whole way. He got to her and, lining his arm through hers, led her to our table. He sat her down across from us and sat back down next to me.

"So hello." I said, putting my chin on my hand and my elbow on the table. "I'm Lilly, and this is Oliver." My bangs fell in my face, so I moved them back with my other hand.

She mumbled quietly in response. "I didn't quite catch that. What?"

She looked up from the can of soda she'd been staring at, locking eyes with me. I was momentarily paralyzed, as she looked at me and I looked at her. /then she blinked, and I was able to look away. My mind raced, and my heart beat double time. I looked at my hands, at someone's shoes, and, for the moment, everywhere except at her. There was something about her eyes, her electric blue eyes, that was fiery. What I had before taken as wide-eyed fear seemed to have changed, and become something more. I couldn't be sure of what it was, but it was paralyzing.

"I'm Miley. Miley Stewart." I looked back up at her, and the look I her eyes was less powerful, less fierce.

"So what are you doing here?" Oliver asked. I almost jumped. I'd forgotten he was there.

"Oh, my family just moved here from Tennessee." That explained her accent. It was Southern, but not in the ridiculously strong way you often hear on TV. It was softer, and you couldn't help but enjoy listening to it. "My Dad's always liked California."

"So what do you think of this Jake Ryan?" I jerked my thumb in his general direction. "You don't seem very hopped up about him. You do know who he is right?"

"I'm from Tennessee, not Mars." I smiled at her. She was funny. "I never really cared for his show or his attitude."

"His attitude?" Oliver questioned.

She looked at him for the first time. "His attitude." And she waved her hand in his general direction. We all looked at him, where he was now showing off his muscles. "When I first m…watched his show, I could just see how full he was of himself."

"Ah…" Oliver breathed. "I see." Miley smiled, flashing a mouthful of pearly white teeth. Her front teeth were slightly crooked, but for her, it worked.

She took a sip of her soda. I noticed it was the only thing she'd bought for lunch. "What's with the all-carbonation diet?"

She looked at me shyly. "Oh, you mean the soda? I can't eat when I'm nervous."

"Makes sense."

Oliver butted in again. "So Miley. We're going to a concert after school. You want to come. I mean, being the new kid and all…" He let the sentence trail off, rather than add the hanging "So what else are you going to do?" But we all knew what he was saying."

"Actually, I've got stuff to do." She looked away. "Maybe next time?"

"Next time." He sounded crestfallen.

And, right then, Amber and Ashley came over. "Oh my god Ashley, tell me I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing. Truscott and Oaken are moving in on the new girl."

"I hate to tell you Amber, but that's what I'm seeing too."

"Hello new girl. I'm Amber, and this is Ashley." Ashley waved.

"I'm Miley," she muttered.

"Well, we'd like for you, she pointed at Miley, "to come sit with us so we can get to know you better." Oliver and I, and possibly Miley, could hear what Amber was really saying. She wanted to indoctrinate Miley into the popular crowd, where she could easily make Miley hate Oliver and I.

"Um…ok." She sounded unsure, but got up anyway. "I'll talk to you guys later." She stared at the ground as she walked away, but Amber looked at us, and her face clearly said that Miley would not be speaking to us anytime soon.

A knot formed in my stomach, flaring angrily. The new girl was ours. _If she looks back, she can't be that bad_. I thought to myself. And, right before Miley sat down by Amber at the far end of the cafeteria, she glanced over her shoulder and locked eyes with me, catching me in the same paralyzing stare as before. The fire in my stomach cooled, replaced by a bizarre urge to fix my hair. _Well,_ I thought again, _at least I know she can't be that bad.

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_Ok guys, so what do you think? I really really really appreciate reviews, so do it up! And if the spirit so takes you, tell me if you want me to update nobody's perfect! = ) Have a nice morning/afternoon/night/day.


	2. Kelsey

So...I'm kinda hot for this story right now. Is that weird to say? Because I promise I don't mean to sound like a creeper.

I've also decided that the next chapter or two may be in Miley's point of view. I like to be able to switch back and forth between them.

Go ahead, read it.

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After school Oliver and I found ourselves driving down the highway. The top was down and the wind blew through my hair. Oliver had jammed his hat back down tight on his head, in an attempt to keep his hair from blowing in the wind and getting messed up. He acts like such a girl sometimes.

He turned up the radio, playing some stupid rap song. I tuned it out. It was nothing more than some angry man shouting about his jail sentence and his homies. I reclined the chair, tucking my arms behind my head. Oliver rapped along with the radio, and I was mostly alone with my thoughts. The sky slid by above me, and I watched the sparse, fluffy clouds slide by. Then I shut my eyes. I wondered about Miley.

"Lilly?" Oliver shouted over the radio.

"Um…uh, what?" I was pulled away from the memory of an electric pair of shocking, blue eyes.

"Nothing. I just thought you were sleeping for a minute." He laughed. "Anyways. We're here."

"Sweet. Let's go check out what these assholes are calling the next Warped Tour." He laughed, but I felt a little annoyed. From where we were in the parking lot we could vaguely hear the music coming from the back of the school. There was a sign hanging, with an arrow pointing us around to the other side of the school. Oliver and I walked around to the booth where people were paying. There was a long line, longer than I would have expected. When it was our turn Oliver pulled out a ten, and they stamped our hands.

"Hey man," Oliver asked the ten behind the counter, "How come there are so many people here?"

"Didn't you hear? There's supposed to be a surprise performance by a musical superstar. No one knows who it is though."

"Can you give me a hint man?"

"No. Then it wouldn't be a surprise." We walked away from him, knowing he was one of those. "Those" are the kids that go to this school, the Pittston High School. He obviously knew what high school we go to. Rival schools students are rivals to the very end.

"So who do you think they got?" I asked Oliver, curiously looking around the crowd, hoping to see some glimpse of someone famous.

"Don't get your hopes up." He said, obviously recognizing my search. "It's a high school, they probably count the guy on the six flags commercial as someone famous. Chances are you'll have never heard of them."

"Hey you!" Someone shouted. The voice flooded out of the speakers, grabbing the attention of everyone in the crowd. "How are you guys today?" The crowd erupted into cheers. "Who's ready to GET THIS PARTY STARTED?" The cheers got louder. "Well, put your hands together for Metro Station, performing their new song Kelsey with Hannah Montana! Come on guys!"

The curtain on the stage opened up, revealing Hannah running out onto the stage where Metro Station was starting up. Blake began on the keyboards, and was followed by the rest of the band, while Mason sung with Hannah.

He began the song.

_So, take one word you said  
You put it in your bed  
You rest your tiny head on your pillow_

_You wonder where you're going next  
You got your head pushed to my chest  
And now you're hoping that someone lets you in_

_Well I sure'll let you in  
You know that you're in  
Oh Kelsey, you_

Then Hannah began the next verse._  
So don't let anyone scare you  
You know that I'll protect you always  
Now, through the thick and thin, until the end_

_You better watch it  
You know you don't cross it because  
I'm always here for you and I'll be here for you_

_I know, I know, I know  
I know how it feels, believe me, I've been there  
And I know, I know, I know  
I know what it feels like, tell me, Kelsey  
_

Mason sung the chorus again._  
And I'll swim the ocean for you  
The ocean for you, whoa, oh Kelsey  
And I'll swim the ocean for you  
The ocean for you, whoa, oh Kelsey  
Yeah_

_No, it's going to get harder  
And it's going to burn brighter  
And it's going to feel tougher each and every day  
_

Hannah picked up the next verse, while Trace sang backup.  
_So let me say that I love you  
You're all that I've ever wanted  
All that I've ever dreamed of to come_

_And yes, you did come  
I want you so bad, can you feel it too?  
You know I'm so, I'm so in love you_

_I want you so much  
I need you so much  
I need you, I need you, your touch_

_And I'll swim the ocean for you  
The ocean for you, whoa, oh Kelsey  
And I'll swim the ocean for you  
The ocean for you, whoa, oh Kelsey  
_

Mason finished up the song with Trace._  
And I'll swim the ocean for you  
The ocean for you, whoa, oh Kelsey  
And I'll swim the ocean for you  
The ocean for you, whoa, oh Kelsey_

_And you never ever let me in  
And you never ever let me in  
And you never ever let me in  
And you never ever let me in_

It was the most amazing version of the song Kelsey I'd ever heard, including their touched-up album version. The crowd was cheering, on their feet, and doing their best to charge the stage. On a large screen in the back the music video was playing, quartered off and showing everyone who was on stage except for Hannah.

When they finally drew to a close Hannah pulled her mic off the stand. "Hello L.A!" The crowd erupted again. "I'm Hannah Montana, and this is Metro Station!" The crowd grew steadily louder, causing her to have to shout to be heard. "That song we just played for you was called Kelsey, and now they're bringing to you their hits 'Shake It' and 'Seventeen Forever.' I've got to go, but I hope you all enjoy the rest of your night! Take it away boys!" They began the synthesizer in Shake It, and Trace came in with his "Let's drop!" Hannah put her mic back on the stand and snuck slowly off the stage as everyone cheered for Metro Station.

Oliver and I jumped and cheered, joining into mosh pits where we could find them. I ended up in a slam pit, shoving and pushing people while being jostled though a never-ending circle. I was knocked down a few times, and even hit in the face by a stray fist, but it was all worth it. I pushed my way out of the pit after that, unwilling to show up at school over the next few days appearing beaten up. Never would I let anyone get a punch in on me. I had just escaped the jumble of mashed together bodies when a stray mosher slammed into me, laying me flat out on the ground on top of an innocent girl. "I'm so sorry." I murmured as sincerely as I could through a mouthful of my own hair. I looked down into the face below mine and saw none other than Miley, looking breathless, and, if anything, incredibly embarrassed, like a child caught doing something wrong.

I stood up, gripping her hand and pulling her up. "I probably wouldn't have apologized if I had known it was you." She looked up at me. My heart stopped and my breath caught, and the next part of my wit was almost lost in her eyes. "I mean, it's not often that I look kindly upon being abandoned at the lunch table. Especially after you deny an invitation out. So why are you here, anyway?" I couldn't keep the accusation out of my voice. After all, we had told her to come with us, and she'd said she had things to do.

"Um…well." Her face flushed, and she looked even more embarrassed. "I had stuff to do after school today, but it got cancelled. And I remembered your boyfriend saying something about a music festival, so I thought I could come here you know?"

There were different parts of her explanation that I should have commented on, like her obvious lie about after school plans, and her nervous reactions, but there was only one thing I needed to respond to immediately. "Oliver is _NOT_ my boyfriend." I blurted out.

"Oh. I'm sorry, it's just, the way ya'll were clinging to each other at lunch and all."

"Clinging?"

"You weren't…like clinging. Just…I'm sorry?" She was starting to get more nervous, and, when I was sitting in the car, this was not the type of wit I'd hoped to exhibit the next time I spoke to her. At least I wasn't stuttering. I gave her my flirtiest crooked smile. It usually made Oliver stop short, and I was pleased to see the effect it had on Miley. "Um. I just uh. I think I'm going to go…to…you know." She stuttered, though it occurred to me that if someone had insulted me, and then smiled, I would have been confused to.

"Hey. Calm down." I wanted to laugh, but then she quickly got herself under control.

"So do you have a boyfriend?"

"I…um." This time I _was_ the one to stutter. It wasn't the question, it was the way she seemed to turn the power of her eyes on and off. I was trapped in her eyes, so I had no control when someone slammed into me. Before I could stop myself I ran into Miley again, knocking her into whoever was behind her. The mosh pit seemed to have expanded, and I was being pushed into her. I grabbed her around her middle and pulled her further away. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, you know, it's nooo problem." I dropped my arm from around her waist. A line from a song drifted into my mind as Miley looked at me from under her eyelashes. _You've got a face for a smile, you know…_

My phone started to vibrate. I opened it and saw there was a text from Oliver. _'Hey, I'm going home with this one girl. You know, home home. You can get a ride right?'_

"God damn you Oliver." I shouted at my phone.

"What is it?" She asked me with the air of someone who recognized they were asking a question with an answer they thought they weren't entitled to.

"Oliver's leaving me here. Now I'll need a ride home."

"Well, I can give you a ride home if you want." She looked kind of hopeful.

"That'd be great."

"Well, I'm leaving right now if you're ready."

I thought about it, but only for a moment. "I'm not doing anything here, it was good enough for me just to see Hannah Montana. She's a total babe."

She looked taken aback. "She's what?"

I stopped and replayed the last few sentences in my head. Shit. "Well, you know, I love how she sings, and I think she's really pretty. She's my idol."

"Oh. Ok."

I wasn't sure she bought it; I'd just have to watch what I said, while at the same time wondering exactly where that came from. "What do you think of her?" I asked, attempting to smooth over that sticky moment.

"Oh you know. She's a total babe." She smiled at me, parroting my words. I took that to mean that she hadn't taken in the full impact of my words, or she had misinterpreted them. But so what? Hannah was just a celeb crush. It's not like I liked her. I didn't like girls. Never had, never will.

Miley opened the door to her car, which we had been walking to. It was a bright yellow old school Camaro. It seemed like everyone drove some kind of sports car. I got in. She reached across in my direction, and for one bizarre moment I thought she was reaching for my hand, and my heart skipped a beat. She grabbed the stick and put it in gear. We cruised down the highway. She was a better driver than Oliver, hovering around the speed limit as we drove in silence.

After about five minutes, she broke the silence. "You never answered me."

"What was the question?" I asked, confused.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Um…no." Truth was, I'd never had a boyfriend. But why tell her that? "Why do you ask?"

"Well, my family is new here, and my brother said if I met any cool girls, than to get to know them, and introduce them to him. So now, I get to go home and taunt him about you."

I thought that slightly amusing, that she and her brother were going to fight over me, in a way. "Well, be sure not to bruise his ego. No boy takes kindly to that." I smiled at her, and she pulled up in front of my house. I was surprised. The ride seemed to have passed way too quickly. "I guess I'll see you in school."

"You might see me more often than you think." I wanted to know what she meant by that, but I didn't ask, as she shot me a look with those amazing eyes. I stumbled, dazed, out of the car. She pulled out of my driveway, turned the car around, and parked in the driveway across the street. She got out, looked across her car to me, and said, "Howdy neighbor."

I laughed, heading into my house, when a strange thought occurred to me. "Miley!" She stopped on her porch, looking at me. "How did you know I lived here?" I shouted across the street to her.

"You know. I asked around." And, with that, she walked inside, leaving me dumbfounded on the porch.

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What did you think guys? Get me a review please, tell me how you feel about where this is going.


	3. Turn Right

Haha. So I did write this from Miley's point of view. Makin' sure you got a heads up before you start reading and can only think...what? Anyways, also, later in this I say something about The song by the Jonas Brothers called Turn Right. If you don't get the reference, the lyrics are 'Turn Right, into my arms, Turn right, and you won't be alone, you might, fall off this track sometime, but I'll see you at the finish line." So that's all you really need to know to get it. K? Read and Review!

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I shut the door behind me as I took off my shoes inside the house. "Hey Dad, I'm home!" I shouted, hoping he could hear me from wherever he happened to be in the house.

"Hey Darlin'! How'd your gig go?" He asked, as he came down the stairs.

"Oh, it was great!" I gushed. "You know Trace and Mason, they're so funny."

"That's good. I'm sorry I wasn't there, I got carried away writing you this new song. Wait until you hear it." He walked into the kitchen and I pulled a chair up to our island.

"What's it called?" I asked curiously. I loved getting new songs.

"I'm not completely sure, but I'm favoring 'Let's Do This.' I'll play it for you later ok?"

"Yea, no problem."

"So how was your first day?"

I was hoping we wouldn't make it to this subject. "It was…first day-ish." I said, completely avoiding the question.

"Ok then…Well, I'm going to start dinner. Anything in particular you want?"

"I'm sure anything you make will be great Dad. I'll go get a start on my homework."

"Alright Darlin', I'll call you down when it's ready."

I grabbed my bag and took the stairs two at a time until I was at the top. I opened my door and threw myself down onto my bed.

"So, did you get the numbers of any cute girls?" A voice said as someone strode into my room.

"What?" I sat up, panicked.

"Did you get any girls numbers?" Jackson asked again.

I looked into his eyes, trying to see if he was joking. He looked serious. "Why would I have gotten any girls numbers?" I asked defensively.

"Uh…for me!" He said loudly, as if I was the stupidest person on the planet.

"Oh for you. No, no I didn't. I'm not hitting on girls for you. It's weird."

"Awww. Come on Miles, how many times have I helped you out?"

"Never?"

"No there was that one time…" He paused. "No that ended terribly. Well that one day…" He stopped again. "Actually, never." He shrugged. "Whatever. Did you see the girl across the street? Soooo hot! I can't wait to meet her." A fire coursed through my veins. "I wonder what her name is."

"It's Lilly." I managed through my teeth.

"So you already know her?"

"Kind of…"

He looked excited. "Will you introduce me?"

"No." I said shortly.

He looked taken back. "What? Why not?"

"Well, you know…" I struggled for an answer. "I don't think it's good for you to hit on the neighbor. We have to live by her forever. What if you make a fool of yourself, or you-god forbid-go out and screw up? We'd be miserable forever."

"True." He seemed to have bought it. "Well…I'm gonna go figure out how to find myself a girl. Bye!" He strode out of my room.

I rolled over, pushing my face into my pillow. I took big steadying breaths, trying to slow the beating of my heart. I almost let slip…Nothing. There was nothing to let slip. I remembered my old school. My old best friend. She would have known what to do.

_Miley, what are you thinking about?_ She would've asked.

_Nothing, why?_ I would have answered her, turning my face away.

_I can just see your gears turning. Tell me what's up. You know you can tell me anything._

_Of course I know that._ I would have said, refusing to look at her.

_Ok. I'm here if you need to talk._

And I wouldn't have told her, Erica, anything. But it would have been a comfort to know that she cared, and that she would have recognized something was up. But now she lived half a country away.

I let my head hang off my bed and looked around at my upside-down room. I had already unpacked most of my room, aside from the small piles of boxes in the corner. I had set everything up almost exactly like my room at home, except for the glass doors out to my balcony. The walls had been a beige color when we got here, but I repainted the room with blackboard paint, so that I could write on it with chalk whenever I wanted. It made my room look dark and depressing, but it didn't affect me at all. I got up off of my bed, and pulled some of the chalk out of the bucket on my dresser. I wasn't sure what I wanted to draw, but there had to be something.

I looked at the wall, seeing the black canvas spread before me. I started to draw, letting the chalk flow where it would. My arm seemed to work by itself, dragging from my subconscious whatever images flowed. I watched, and suddenly, stopped myself. The beginning of my drawing had taken an unexpected turn. A long swath of blonde hair, a perfect, smooth face…I quickly used my hand as an eraser, smudging the entire picture until nothing was distinguishable. I ran to the bathroom, wetting a cloth so I could permanently erase the drawing. I looked towards my door, making sure no one had seen the drawing I had made. I sat there staring at my wall, watching it slowly dry.

I began the drawing again, this time putting a load of thought into what I wanted to do. I drew my name on the wall, in swirling letters surrounded by stars. It took up most of the wall, and was a beautiful swirl of yellow, pink, red and orange chalk. I loved it. I was going to do a smaller 'Hannah Montana' under it, but Dad called me down for dinner.

"Hey Miles! Come on down!" I dropped the chalk and jumped down the stairs.

"I'm here."

"Good. Let's eat."

Jackson came over from where he was sitting in front of the TV and pulled up a chair with the rest of us to the kitchen table. "You want to say it tonight Jackson?"

"I said it last night!"

"Miles?"

"Yea I got it." I paused. "God, we thank you for the food you've set before us." I paused, feeling the guilt flood me again, as it does every time I pray. "Thank you for helping us get to where we are today, and for the many blessings you've given us. Amen."

We all started scooping food onto our plates. Dad had made catfish stew tonight, and a fight began between Jackson and Dad who would get the eyeball. They finally decided there were two of them, so they both could get an eyeball. Boys. We all ate in silence. The stew was so good, I felt like I could do nothing but eat. "So Miles, what all did you do at school today?"

"You know, nothing much. Attempted to get to the same place everyone else is in their lessons, meet people, all that. Oh…Jake Ryan goes here."

"What?" He coughed, choking on his food. Jackson thumped him on the back. "Who?"

"Jake Ryan."

"That boy. I can't stand him." Ever since I'd been in that show with Jake, and he'd pretended to like me to make Tracy jealous, my dad went crazy even at the mention of his name.

"Man," Jackson added, "I can not believe that Jake Ryan goes to your school."

"Trust me Jackson, he is not as cool as you make him sound like he is."

Dad cut in again. "Did you meet any boys?" He was completely serious, but Jackson burst out laughing.

"Yes. I met boys."

"And…?"

"And what?" I rolled my eyes. "Dad, it's not like everyday I wander around looking for a new boy.

"I know, I know. Just making sure you're not going for some crazy Jake Ryan like boy."

"Of course not." I finished eating my food, and left the table.

"Miles, don't you want some boysenberry pie?"

"Maybe later. I think I'm gonna go for a walk, and get to know the neighborhood."

"Ok. Don't get lost."

I went out the front door, heading slowly down the porch steps. _Where to go?_ I thought to myself. I decided to turn right, because, according to the Jonas Brothers, that's the best way to find love. At the corner of my street I decided to Turn Right again, and ran into a person jogging in my direction, who was thrown back onto her butt.

An apology formed in my throat, but was lost as the person shouted at me. "Watch where you're going, dumb ass!" I took a step back, shocked at being spoken to like that.

"Well I'm not the one who's obviously running with my eyes closed, now am I?" The girl wiped herself off, then turned to face me. My heart stopped. I backtracked shamelessly. "Oh, Lilly, I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you."

She looked stunned. "No, no. It was totally my fault. Like you said, you weren't the one running with your eyes closed."

"Like _you_ said, I should watch where I'm going, dumb ass." I blushed, but, to my surprise, so did she.

"So…" She said after a moment. "What are you doing out here?"

"You know, just trying to get my bearings in the neighborhood. Figured I'd walk around and see what was close."

As I said that, Lilly's eyes lit up. "You want me to show you around?"

"I'd love that. So where to first?"

"Let's go to the beach. It's the best place to walk to."

"Lead the way." Secretly I thought to myself, _I knew it. Turn right._

"Well it's about a block this way." I followed her down the road she turned, matching her steps. "So…" she said.

"So." I echoed.

"How'd you like your first day?"

"You sound like my Dad."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, I love my Dad." She looked at me with a funny smile on her face. "I didn't mean it that way. Anyways, I had a fine first day. Or as fine as I could. I mean, new school, new teachers, new everything. It'll take some getting used to."

"I can imagine. I was new once, in like, the second grade. My mom and I moved here after my Dad left my mom."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"Ok." We fell into an awkward silence. "So what's with that Oliver kid?"

"Huh? What about him?"

"Why do you hang out with him?"

"You know how I was new? He was the first kid to share his crayons. We've been inseparable ever since."

"How inseparable?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know, do you guys…" I wiggled my eyebrows, hoping she would get it.

"No! Never! Oliver's a little horn dog, and he's always got a girl waiting around to keep him happy."

"Hmm. Awkward."

"Yea, yea, I know. Why you so curious?"

"I… um…" I panicked, sure that my questions had seemed nonchalant. "I was just….wondering…"

"Oh no." She stopped walking, looking at me. "Tell me you're not another Oliver-chaser!"

I breathed out a sigh of relief; she _so_ had the wrong idea. "Ha! I barely even know him. I've said like, two words to the kid."

"Just making sure."

"Why? Are _you_ an Oliver chaser?"

"Yea, right. There are better fish in the sea."

"Like who?"

"Like….Hey! This isn't interrogate Lilly day! You're the new kid. You see anyone _you_ like?"

"Trust me, I do." I mumbled.

"What?"

"Oh…you know."

"Who? Who is it?"

"You wouldn't tell me, I'm not telling you." I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Ugh. Of course." She sounded disgruntled. "We're almost here." She turned onto this wooden walkway that led us right to the sand. She pointed at a little shack. "This is Rico's. He's a conniving little boy, so avoid him if you can." We kept walking on the beach, which was still full of people even though it was getting dark. She pointed to a small building on the sand. "This is the surfboard renting shop. You can tell that by the sign out front that says surfboard rental shop." I laughed. "It does wakeboards too."

"I can't surf."

"Well don't worry about that. I can _teach_ you." She said as if it was obvious.

"You don't really want to teach me, you're just dying to spend more time together." I don't know what possessed me to say that, except for I was sure she would blush if I did. And, sure enough, she did. "Well you're cute when you blush aren't you?" And she was.

"Um…thanks. You too."

"I'm cute when I blush?"

"Nope. You're cute when _I_ blush." We both laughed.

"Yea, you're real clever Lilly."

"I know." She smirked.

Yea. I'll get you. You watch."

"Try. I dare you." She taunted me.

I laughed. "Fine." I took a step towards her, and for a moment she looked panicked. My foot went in a hole, and I fell towards her. She caught me.

"Aww, look. You're already throwing yourself at me."

I straightened myself up. "I am not."

I must have had a huffy look on my face, because she just laughed. Then, my phone started to ring. I pulled it out quickly. "Hello?" I asked breathlessly, sounding as if I'd run a marathon.

"Miley!" Two voices chorused at me.

"Yea?"

"It's Amber." One voice echoed. "And Ashley!" The other one said.

"Hi…" I wondered if they had called for any particular reason, other than to demonstrate their perfectly choreographed way of speech.

"So, we've decided we want you to ride to school with us tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok."

"Well, we'll see you tomorrow!" They both yelled. They'd hung up before I could answer.

"And that was Amber and Ashley, ready to indoctrinate you into their society." She hung over the railing of some building we were now by. We had walked across most of the beach, and were now completely alone in the semi-darkness.

"They seem like nice girls." Annoying, and a little crazy, but…maybe nice. Actually, they didn't really strike me as nice at all. But I liked the way they obviously drove Lilly crazy.

"Ugh. They probably don't even know what nice is. They're the craziest people in the world, and they're so mean, that if they donated blood, the person who got it would immediately become Cruella Devil." She started to turn red, and I could feel the pressure building up behind her. I kind of liked it. "I mean, how could you even want to be friends with them? They're stupid, and ignorant, and mean, and totally not worth your time. You should be friends with…" She stopped, looking like she'd said too much.

"Friends with who?" I leaned against the back of a bench across from her railing. "Friends with you?" I said nonchalantly. She didn't answer, and the waves crashed in the background. "Serious. Who should I be friends with?" She looked like she was going to throw up. "I'm waiting." I said playfully.

"Yea, I guess. Friends with me."

"That's what I thought." I smiled, glad she'd admitted I should be friends with her. Because if she thought that, it meant she wanted to be friends with me. And God, did I want her to be my friend. I laughed.

"What's so funny?" She demanded, but I chose not to answer. If she only knew. "Ugh." You're driving me crazy, woman." She looked away from me. "Come on, it's dark. Let's go home.

"Oh, are you going to be so sweet as to walk me?"

"No…" She drawled. "You're just going to be so creepy as to follow me." She teased back at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about." We both laughed at how stupid we were being. We lapsed into silence. Soon we were at our houses, and the walk ended far too soon for my taste. "Hey Lilly," I said, right before turning away. "It looks like you got your wish."

"And what was that?" She asked coyly.

"It looks like we're friends."

"Oh trust me. That was _your_ wish." I laughed, jumping up the few steps to my house. I'd thought about arguing back, but what was the point? She was right.

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So, what do you think? This is heating up ain't it? Reviewss are alwayssss welcome.


	4. You Following Me?

Well, this chapter ends in a stupid place, I know, I know. Read and review!

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I rolled over in my bed. I ran my arms up and down the sheets and blankets on either side of me, but it was as I'd expected; there was no one there. I'd just been dreaming. I propped myself up on my elbows, disappointed to the verge of tears. I had always hated dreaming, because I always woke up disappointed with reality. But this one was particularly a letdown.

I swung my legs over the edge of my bed, steadying myself and rubbing my eyes, wiping away the unshed tears. Pulling myself off the bed, I stumbled over to my dresser, grabbing whatever clothes I thought would look good. Slowly, very slowly, I made my way to my bathroom. Getting ready in the morning was always a long process, it was best to start as soon as I could.

When I stepped out of the bathroom I was met by a rush of cool air. While brushing my hair with one hand I put on mascara with the other. I quickly put mousse in my hair, scrunching it with my free hand. Amber and Ashley would be here soon, and I needed to look good today. I quickly straightened my bangs and hurried downstairs with my bag.

"Well look who decided to come downstairs. I was wondering if you were intending on going to school, or just using hot water all day."

"Good morning to you too Daddy." I hugged him, hopping up on a stool. He put some eggs and a few pieces of bacon on it, passing me a fork. "Thanks."

"Just doing my job. Well, getting ready to. I want to finish that new song today if I can."

"That would be great." I quickly ate between words.

"Slow down bud, the food's not going anywhere!"

"Dad," I moaned, disgruntled. "My friend's coming to give me a ride, and will probably be here soon.

"Could this be the Lilly girl from across the street?"

"What? Why? Why would I be getting a ride with her?"

"Calm down Miles. Jackson was telling me about her. He said you met her yesterday."

"Oh. Well, it's these two girls in my grade, Amber and Ashley." I finished my sentence, and a horn honked out front. "That's them. Gotta go!" I grabbed my bag and hurried out the door, eager to get to school.

"Have a nice day darlin'!"

I shut the door behind me and got in to the back seat of Amber's car. "Hey Miley!" She said in that all-too-perky voice.

"Yea, hey." Ashley echoed.

"Hi girls." Amber put the car in drive and burned rubber off of my street.

"So," Amber said, "We're getting tickets to the Hannah Montana concert next month. You want to come?"

"What day is that?" I asked, already knowing the date.

"I think it's the 13th." Ashley said.

She was wrong, it was the fourteenth. "I can't. The 13th and 14th of next month my Dad's mom is coming to visit us at the new house."

"Oh." Amber said, obviously not used to hearing someone turn them down. "Fine. She looked in the rearview mirror, and at first I thought she was studying me. "Damn it. Here come the town losers."

Ashley burst into uncontrollable giggles. I looked behind us, and saw Oliver and Lilly pulling even with us in a cherry red Mustang with the top down. I fought the urge to wave enthusiastically to her. After last night I should probably think twice about her. My window was up, and they were all tinted, but I imagined Lilly was staring straight through it into my soul.

Ashley rolled up her window and Amber continued to drive as if they weren't there anymore. The Mustang kept pace with us, then, suddenly zoomed ahead into the school parking lot. Amber pulled into the parking lot, taking a space as close as she could to the school. We all got out, and they flanked me, Amber hooking her arm through my left, and Ashley through my right. We went right to the front of the school, just as Jake got out of his limo.

"Oh Jake, hi." Ashley simpered.

"Ashley, shut up. Jake, we've got a party going on at Matt's house tomorrow. You want to come?" She batted her eyes at him.

"Ladies, ladies, don't worry. I'll be there. See you?" He winked at her.

They both took their hands off me and giggled to each other. He sauntered away. Oliver and Lilly walked by, he with his arm around her shoulders. That burned me on the inside. Amber and Ashley watched them both walk by. "Ugh. I always knew they'd end up together." Amber said. Lilly looked over her shoulder at me, and dropped her arm from Oliver's waist.

"What do you mean together?"

"Like _together_ together." Ashley said as if I was stupid. It was starting to get on my nerves the way they finished each other's thoughts.

"Oh. I didn't think they were together." Lilly had said they weren't.

"You'll learn Miley." Amber said.

"Yea, you will." They both turned to walk into the school as if on cue, and I followed them like I was a lost dog. We walked slowly through the halls. The warning bell rang. "Ok, we have to go to homeroom. See you during lunch." They left me in the hall.

I walked quickly to my locker. I had just opened it when a familiar voice called out softly to me. "Hey Miley."

"Lilly." I said, half relieved and half worried. "Hey." I turned around and leaned against my locker. "How's it going?"

"Oh, pretty good." She said, in that same soft voice. She reached slowly towards me, and for a moment, I froze, sure I knew what was going to happen next. Then her arm reached past my shoulder, and she opened her locker. I breathed a sigh of relief, and stepped a little farther from her.

"I didn't know your locker was here."

"Me either." She smirked at me. "I mean yours." She indicated my opened locker.

"Yea. It was the only empty locker."

"Well, poor you. Now you'll have to see me a few times everyday. You're my neighbor, you're my locker neighbor. Sorry." She sounded as if she was offering up a sincere apology.

I scoffed. "Yea, like I mind seeing you a lot." I said sarcastically.

She looked at me, smiling a crooked smile that melted my heart. "I've got to go to class." She smiled at me one more time, before turning and walking away. I watched her figure leave. The bell rang, signaling I was late for homeroom. I slammed my locker shut, running in the opposite direction.

It seemed like the day dragged on far too long. The few hours before lunch felt like days. When the bell rang I quickly gathered my books, and dropped them off at my locker. I hung around for a while, hoping to see Lilly, but it seemed like she'd beaten me. By the time I got to the lunch room it was packed, most tables were full, and Jake was already surrounded by a large group of people. I remembered the first time I'd met him. Well, the first time Hannah met him. We hadn't been formally introduced, and he had decided it would be sufficient to walk up and say, "I'm Jake Ryan. I'd like you to date me so that we can become the nation's hottest couple. What do you say?" Needless to say, Hannah had turned him down with a few well chosen words, including 'Hell' and 'No.'

I was on my way to the lunch line when he caught me by my arm. "Hey Miley." He said in what I'm sure he thought was a seductive voice. "You look really familiar."

"Let me guess, you've seen me in your dreams?"

"No no." He paused. "Have you heard that one before?"

"Yes."

"Well I really do recognize you. You look like this girl I know…" I took his moment of indecision to sneak away from him and get in the lunch line.

I slowly walked through the line, looking for something I wanted to eat. There wasn't really anything. I walked through, just getting a soda again. When I came out of the line I looked in the direction of Lilly and Oliver. They were sitting across the table from each other. Oliver had his back to me and was talking animatedly, waving his hands while he looked down towards his food. He didn't seem to notice that Lilly was no longer looking at him, but was staring directly at me. I started to make my way over to their table, and was about halfway there when Amber and Ashley intercepted me.

"Miley where are you going? We sit over here." They left me no choice but to follow them. I looked longingly at Lilly before turning to follow them. When we sat down Amber and Ashley had their backs to Lilly, and I could see her between the two of them. They talked to me, but it was just meaningless banter, and they didn't actually require me to answer, or even pay attention. Lilly got up from her table, and I watched her leave the cafeteria. She looked at me as she got to the doorway. Then, she pushed it open and was gone. Oliver went to talk to one of his friends.

"I have to go to the bathroom." I muttered to Amber and Ashley, and before either of them could follow me, I hurried past them towards the cafeteria door. As the door shut click behind me I looked around to see if I could find Lilly. She was nowhere in sight, so I turned right to head towards the nearest bathroom.

"You following me Stewart?" She said in a low silky voice. I jumped back, and my back hit the wall.

"Come on Truscott, why would I follow you?" If she wanted to play games, I could play back.

"I don't know…Miley." She leaned forward, lessening the space between us and putting her hand on the wall beside my head. "Why don't you tell me?" She looked down at me.

I put my face closer to hers, until they were almost touching. "I just had to go to the bathroom." I gently pushed her back from me and walked the rest of the way to the girl's room. As the door swung shut I quickly looked back to where I'd left Lilly. She was still standing there, looking stunned. I breathed out quickly, and my hand felt like it was burning from where I'd touched Lilly. I held in a laugh that was trying to escape me, and, to pass time, washed my hands, once, twice, three times. The door opened, and the empty bathroom was no longer empty. Lilly walked in. She washed her hands too.

"So…" She said nervously. "How do you like that Amber and Ashley?"

I followed her lead and didn't speak of what had just happened in the hallway. "I'm not sure that I do." She looked heartened by the idea. "They're just..you know."

"Yea." We both reached for paper towels at the same time, and our hands brushed. An awkward silence followed. "Sorry."

"Naw, my fault. Sorry." She grabbed them first and we both dried our hands. We walked out, and she held the door open for me. "Thanks." We walked side by side down the hallway. I stopped in front of the cafeteria door, and so did she. "So what game are you playing?"

"No games." She stepped around me into the cafeteria. I wondered if she was serious, or if it was another game. I had no choice but to follow her in and go back to Amber and Ashley. But, I decided, if she wanted to play, I was going to show her what games really were.

After school that day I was dragged to the Escalade by Amber and Ashley. "We're going shopping!" They had both shouted excitedly. Now I was following them around the mall, pretending to be excited about all the great things they were buying. I swear, not even Hannah bought this much at once. Or spent this much at once. It was like they were drawn to every expensive thing at the store. And they're meaningless banter was killing me. They flirted with everyone they met, stared at boys like they were blind and could finally see, and paraded me around like I was their newest conquest. They also insisted on buying me things, which I couldn't pretend I didn't enjoy. Like the American Eagle sunglasses. Amazing. I was wishing they would just take me home when my phone rang.

_Hold On, Hold On, Hold On, Hold On. When you love someone and they break your heart don't give up on love, have faith restart._

I opened the text message, and was met by an unknown number and a simple _'I see you.' _

I looked around to see if anyone near me was texting. There were at least ten people within fifty feet of me who were, and none of them were looking at me. Amber and Ashley were arguing over whether or not a Latte was fat free in the food court, completely ignoring me. I answered the text. _'I can't see you.'_

_'I know. You having fun with Amber and Ashley?'_

_'Nope.'_

_'I know.'_

_'That obvious?'_

_'Yea. So why don't you ditch them?'_

_'That'd be rude. They're trying to be my friends.'_

_'No, they're trying to add the new girl to their group.'_

_'And I'm the new girl.' _It wasn't a question, as I'd already suspected as much.

_'Yes. You are.'_

_'Huh. Well, that's fun.'_

_'Ok then. Let me know when you want to dump the bitches and actually have fun.'_

_'Who is this?'_

_'Lilly.'_ I looked around quickly, and could have sworn I'd seen a flash of blonde hair disappearing from the second floor balcony.

_'How'd you get my number?'_ I asked quickly.

_'You know. I asked around.'_ I shut my phone, looking back up to the balcony. I'd underestimated her. She was very good at games.

"Hey Miley." They snapped me out of my thoughts. "Let's go. We can't get anything fat free here." I loyally followed them out of the mall, to the car, and they dropped me off at home. "Bye!" Ashley said. "We'll pick you up tomorrow before school!"

"You know guys, I think I'll drive ok? I'll meet you there." Amber gave me a look right before I shut the door that plainly said it wasn't ok.

I carried my bags upstairs to my room. The clock said six, which seemed to be in sharp contrast with how exhausted I was. I briefly considered just dropping onto my bed, but went downstairs to get something to eat. Jackson was at the table.

"Hey Jackson." He grunted in acknowledgement. "Where's Dad?"

"I don't know. I think he went to go see a man about a full summer Hannah Tour."

"Oh ok." He must have been out to dinner with my manager. I warmed myself up some of what Jackson was having, leftover spaghetti. We didn't speak much, so I was surprised when he broke the silence.

"I met that Lilly girl today after school."

"You did?"

"Yea. I turned on the Jackson charm. I think she digs me." He smiled down to himself.

"Did she ask about me?"

"Oh yea she did. She wanted your cell phone number, so I gave her it."

That explained how she'd gotten my number. She said she'd asked around, but I knew no one at school but Amber and Ashley had it. I finished my food, leaving Jackson at the table and going back upstairs to my room. My phone rang from where it was on the charger. I groaned. What could Amber and Ashley want now?

_'…have faith restart, just hold on…'_

But, when I opened my phone, I saw the message wasn't from either of them. It was from Lilly.

_'Want to go for an evening walk?'_

I considered saying no, because so far, I was losing this game. But then I remembered, it'd only just begun. _'Sure. Where are you?'_

_'Outside your house.'_

_'Alright. I'm coming out.' _I shut the phone, hurrying down the stairs. Jackson was still at the table. "I'm going out. I'll be back soon."

"Whatever." He said, probably not really listening.

I opened the door, and there was Lilly, leaning against my car on the sidewalk. "Hey." She smiled at me.

"So you just can't get enough of me, can you Lilly?"

"You know it." She smiled wider. "I figured we'd go down to the boardwalk and go through the stores. Unless you're totally shopped out for the day." She smirked.

"Me? Shopped out? You afraid you can't keep up?"

"Me? Afraid? You're crazy. Come on."

---

Haha, there were a lot of awkward moments in that now that I reread it...I might need to rewrite it too...Tell me what you thought.


	5. I Gotta Feeling

Yes, it's taken me a bit of time to write this chapter. Sorry. I had intended to have it up yesterday, but that didn't happen. Volleyball and wprk just take up so much time, and i start school on Monday...Goodness. Read and Review please!

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I slammed the car door shut, angry that I'd been suckered into coming here. Oliver had begged and begged, so I'd had no choice but to give in, or put up with his whining for the rest of the night. So, there I was, outside of Matt's house, waiting for Oliver to finish straightening himself up. We walked in together, but we kept our distance from each other. He was hoping to get lucky tonight, but I didn't expect as much. I'd had enough random hookups to last me a lifetime, tonight I wasn't looking for anything.

As soon as we were inside different people yelled to us. "Hey, Oaken!" "Truscott, how's it going!?" Just the meaningless banter that comes with going to high school.

A girl walked up to Oliver. "Hey," Joanie said, in what was probably supposed to be a seductive voice. "I was hoping you'd come tonight."

Oliver got a dopey look on his face. "I told you I'd be here."

She looked at me. "Truscott." She said shortly.

"Loser." I answered in the same tone.

"Look who's talking." She turned back to Oliver. "Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to party with just me. You know." She put her hand on his chest.

"Hey Lilly?" He asked, his eyes completely glued to her. "Can you chill by yourself for a while?"

"Well…"

"Thanks Lilly. I'll find you later." She pulled him up the stairs. I scoffed. Dragged to a party for no reason. He should have come by himself. I looked around, seeing lots of familiar faces dancing and drinking. Pushing my way through the crowd I wandered to the backyard where no one was. It was already dark out, so I sat on the deck steps, listening to the muffled music from inside. I was itching to smoke a cigarette; I should have taken one from Oliver before he went upstairs. Parties always made me uncomfortable.

"Do you mind if I join you?" A soft voice with a Southern accent asked. I turned to see who it was, and, surely enough, Miley was standing at the top of the steps, waiting for me to answer her. She looked beautiful, as always.

"Only if you can keep your hands off me." I said smoothly. She laughed an infectious laugh and sat down next to me.

"I'll try." It was quiet for a moment. "So what are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be inside dancing with a cute boy, or something?"

"Shouldn't you?" I retorted.

"Touché."

"I know." I smiled. I suddenly didn't want a cigarette anymore. I leaned back against the house, and she leaned against the railing on the other side. Her leg touched mine, sending a jolt through me. She didn't move away, and neither did I. "So…" I said shakily. "What are you doing out here?"

"I asked you first."

"I don't like parties."

"Well I don't like being surrounded by people I don't know or like. Amber and Ashley have all these people that worship the ground the walk on, and me too. I can't stand it."

"It comes with being popular. At the rate you're going, you might want to get over it."

"I don't like the rate I'm going."

"Well, the more you hang with Amber and Ashley, the more you'll go that way."

"Ugh." She turned, laying back across the stairs. My leg was suddenly cold where hers had been. "I miss Nashville."

"I'm sorry. Don't you like it here?"

"Sure I do, but I was there a long time. I had friends."

"You have friends here."

"Yeah. Great. Amber and Ashley."

"No, me. I'm your friend."

"Are you?"

"Well I thought so. But if you don't want me to be, then I won't."

"No I do, I do. Be my friend."

"Well you know, now that you're begging." I smirked at her.

"Oh shut up!" She smacked my shoulder. "You're absolutely ridiculous." She left her hand on my shoulder for a moment. Then, the door behind us opened, and she jerked her hand away.

"I knew you were out here Miley. What are you doing with her?" Amber said 'her' as if I was something disgusting stuck to the bottom of my shoe.

"We're just talking."

"Well how about you go talk to someone else? Like us? We don't talk to people like her."

"I'm, right here you know." I said, annoyed.

"Yea, we know." Ashley snapped at me.

"We're going inside Miley. Come on." Amber said. Miley stood up like she was going to follow her, and then stopped.

"No." She said simply.

"What?" Amber and Ashley said together.

"No. I'm not going to go with you guys. I don't even like you."

"So that's it? You're choosing the losers over us?"

"No. I'm choosing Lilly over the losers. Goodbye." She turned around, pretending they weren't there.

"You're going to regret this!" Amber shrilled, stomping off with Ashley on her heels.

No sooner were they gone then Jake stepped out. "Wow. That was hot. You wanna go out with me Miley?"

She looked at him like he was crazy. "No."

He seemed stunned for a moment, but recovered quick. "Oh, I get it. Playing hard to get. I'll see you soon." He strutted away.

We were silent for a while. "What just happened?" I asked, somewhat surprised.

"Nothing much." She sat back down as if nothing had really happened. "Ugh. I spent enough time with them to get that they were some of the worst people the good lord ever put on this planet."

"I was never friends with them. They used to dump my milk and throw my cookies on the floor in kindergarten. Everyone else thought they were funny, so they laughed. Then I beat them both up. Ever since, we've been enemies."

She laughed. "Kids are so cruel."

"Yeah they are. As cruel as the idea of me having to be at this party."

"Same. I think I'm gonna head home. Wanna come?"

I balked. "Home with you?" My heart pounded out of my chest.

"Well I mean if you really want, then sure. But I was actually asking if you'd like a ride home." She smirked at me

I leaned back. "You know, I think I'd rather go home with you." My mom was away on a business trip, and I was going to have the house to myself the whole weekend.

Her smile faltered for a bit. Then it came right back. "Ok. Let's go." She stood up, and I just looked at her. "Come on!" She reached out for my hand and pulled me up, dragging me behind her. My heart pounded and my breath caught. It wasn't until she let go of my hand at her car that I could breathe again. I resisted the urge to run my hand through her hair before she walked around and unlocked the doors. We both got in. As soon as the car started it began playing the last song she'd played. It was a song I recognized, that was halfway over.

_I believe  
That the road that people lead  
Helps you find the one you need  
You're much better  
Yeah  
_

"So what are we going to do tonight?" I asked Miley, nervously.

_  
I wanna fly with (you)  
Tear up the sky with (you)  
You're much better  
You're much better, girl  
I wanna fight with (you)  
Make up tonight with (you)  
You're much better  
Ooo!  
Yeah! _

"Whatever you want." She replied. Then she started singing along. I tried to ignore the frenzy that had been thrown up in my mind at those words.

_I wanna fly with (you)  
Tear up the sky with you  
(Oh! )  
You're much better  
I wanna fight with you  
Make up tonight with you_

_(Oh! )  
You're much better  
You're much better girl!  
Oooo ooo oo!  
Yeah!  
I wanna fly with youuu!  
Ohhh  
You're much better  
You're much better girl!  
You're much better_

The song ended just as Miley pulled into her garage. She shut the door behind us and we slammed the doors. She checked her cell phone. "Shit. It's eleven thirty." She slowly opened the door. "Try to be quiet, at least until we get up to my room." We creeped slowly up the stairs. _What am I doing here? _Was all that ran through my mind.

We were almost in her room when the door across the hall opened. "Miles?" A sleepy voice said.

"What is it?" Another, softer voice said from behind him. Miley and I both looked in time to see Jackson shirtless in his doorway with a half dressed girl behind him.

"Jackson what are you doing!? You're not supposed to have girls in your room."

"So?" He looked at the girl behind him. "Dad got called away for one of his clients, so he won't be back till Sunday. I figured I ought to, you know, enjoy myself. Look's like that's what you're doing." He leered at me.

"Jackson, there is a big difference between me having a girl in my room and you having one."

"Jackson," The girl said, "Can we just go back to bed?" She pulled on his arm.

"Sarah?" I asked.

"Hey Lilly." She was perfectly calm about the whole situation. She wrapped her arm around Jackson's torso, which was surprisingly muscular.

"Well, I'll see you two in the morning. You know, if Lilly's a morning-after kind of girl." He shut the door, still laughing at his joke.

"That boy," Miley said, "Is dumber than a dog playing in traffic."

_Is he?_ I thought to myself. _Is he really?_ Miley led me into her room, as I remembered that I never had been a morning-after kind of girl. After I've committed a dirty deed, I always sneak off in the middle of the night to avoid everything that follows sex. I was awed once I stepped into her room. She had drawings on the walls, drawings that amazed me.

On the one wall was her name, in large swirling letters. On the others were various things she must have seen, or created. Some of it was graffiti, others were cartoon characters, some were life-like animals. "You draw?" I asked, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world.

"Yep."

"Me too!" I was so excited for a moment, I forgot to play it cool. "I never knew you were an artist. I used to draw all the time before…"

"Before what?"

_Before things changed_. "Before senior year. I just got too busy. Wanna see?"

"Yeah. The chalk is in that dresser drawer." I walked over, pulling open the drawer she had indicated. I looked inside, and saw a collection of different colored chalks. I pulled out the chalk container, and saw it was sitting on top of a book that looked suspiciously like a journal. I was dying to pick it up and have a look, but couldn't have done so without Miley seeing. When I turned around Miley was lying back on her bed, propped up on her elbows. My breath caught. I turned to her wall, trying to cover up my awkward moment. I looked at the blank wall around Miley's name.

"Do you like tigers?" I asked.

"Yes."

"I'm gonna draw you one." I took an orange chalk, beginning with the outline of the body. I slowly progressed, moving on to the face, then the eyes, then the body details. It took almost an hour, but Miley sat there patiently, watching me without a word.

"That's amazing." I took a few steps back, sitting next to Miley on the bed. She put a hand on my shoulder. My heart fluttered. "Honestly, this is the best drawing I've ever seen." We both sat back and looked at it. The tiger was lazing on top of Miley's name, with one of it's legs hanging off the side of her name, and it's tail in the air.

"Thanks. I really miss drawing. It's nice to see I can still do it."

"It looks like you never stopped." I looked at her, and she was smiling warmly. "So what do you want to do now? Or do you intend to spend all night drawing on my walls?"

I laughed at her. "What do you want to do?"

"Wanna watch a movie?"

"Depends. Which movie?"

"Seventeen Again?" I laughed.

"I haven't seen it."

"Then we are definitely going to watch it." She jumped off the bed, grabbing a DVD off of her bedside table. She put it into the DVD player under the large TV on her dresser. "This movie is so good." She shut off the lights just as the movie started, and jumped into the bed, landing right on me. "Oh, Lilly!" She exclaimed. "I'm sorry! I thought you were on the other side!" I didn't know what she was talking about, but I didn't mind. She tried to get off of me, but kept losing her footing and eventually flopped down on top of me. "Sorry." She rolled over off of me onto the other side of the bed.

"It's-it's no problem." I focused my attention to the TV. Well, pretended to. I couldn't get over the feel of Miley on me. Of her face so close to mine. I couldn't take that she was so, so close to me. I could feel just the lightest touch from her arm on mine, and the vibration every time she shifted on the bed. After the movie ended I could feel Miley's eyes on me. I turned my head to look at her. She stared at me intently, with that burning blue gaze of hers. I tried to look away, but it didn't do anything. I knew she was still looking at me, and I started to get hot under the collar. I wanted to move my arm away from her, but I couldn't. She got up from the bed to turn off the TV and turn on the light, and I could breathe freely again.

"Wanna go to bed now?" She glanced at the alarm clock. "It's 2:30."

"Yea." I covered my face.

"Is it okay if I snuggle close to you?" She asked timidly.

"What?" I panicked.

"Well, my best friend used to always let me sleep really close to her. I mean, if you think that's weird then I completely understand."

"No," I paused. I should say no, but for some strange reason, I really, really wanted to say yes. "It's not weird."

She sighed. "Ok." She flipped off the light, leaving me in complete darkness. I felt the bed sink a bit under her weight when she got on it. The covers shifted as she pulled them up, and I tensed up, waiting. She slid her hand across my stomach, wrapping her fingers up in the fabric at the hem of my t-shirt. The fingers that in my t-shirt were touching my bare stomach, and I couldn't relax my muscles. My breath came in short rasps. "Will you relax? You'd think I was about to rape you or something." My mind was suddenly ravaged by vivid images of Miley's hands traveling up my shirt, her face moving closer to mine, her lips… "Lilly. Calm down. If you're not okay with this I'll move." She lifted her head, and I knew she was looking at me in the darkness.

I took a few calming breaths, pushing the thoughts out of my mind. "Okay with this? This isn't anything. Of course I'm ok with it."

"Good." She laid her head down on my shoulder, snuggling close. I heard her yawn at the same time I did. That infectious laugh rang out in the darkness, from somewhere below my chin. I shifted my arm a bit, so that it was behind her. I wondered if putting my arm around her was too much, and she seemed to read my mind. She pushed her back out a bit until it was touching my arm. I put it around her, gingerly touching her waist. She sighed in contentment. "Sleep sweet."

_I definitely will._ "Good night." It wasn't long before she had fallen asleep. Her breathing had slowed, and her hand on my hip had relaxed. My heart kept beating double-time, and I couldn't figure out why. It wasn't as if I liked her or something. She was just another girl from school. Except, she was different. She wasn't stuck up. She listened when I spoke as if she cared what I had to say. She wasn't stalking me to get to Oliver. She was nice, and could be my best friend. I looked down at her, and could see a vague outline of her face. She looked so peaceful. I resisted the urge to touch her, and just laid my head on top of hers, settling in for a good night. A good, good night.

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So what'd you think? Keep in mind, reviews are why i write. So if you read this, you should review it and let me know. Remind me of why i wrote, and who i write for.


	6. A Rose By Any Other Name

I woke up the next morning alone. I looked frantically around my room, but Lilly was nowhere to be found. I knew that I had pushed her too far. Do you mind if I cuddle with you? Am I an idiot? I'd moved too fast, and now she was gone. I pulled myself out of bed, heading downstairs. Jackson's door was wide open, and no one was in there, so I hoped Sarah had left early too. Then he wouldn't be so arrogant about Lilly leaving. I slowly made my way down the stairs, hanging my head. I was surprised to be greeted by Lilly when I reached the bottom of the stairs. "Good morning sunshine. Pancakes?"

I was stunned, first by the fact that she was still here, and second by the happy way she said hello. She had played it cool with me since we'd met. She also seemed to recognize her mistake. I watched her face cloud over. "So, you cook?" I asked her, taking the seat next to her at the island, which happened to be the only empty one.

"Nope. Sarah does." She smiled appreciatively at Sarah, avoiding looking at me. I ran my hand through my hair while she was looking away, quickly straightening it up. Lilly already looked like she'd spent hours doing her hair, though I doubted that she did. I put my hand down on the table, trying to appear indifferent. Jackson put a plate full of food in front of me.

"Thanks," I muttered, eating as much as I could without looking like a pig or eating too much. I was starving. I ignored the fact that my elbow was touching Lilly's, and that she didn't move it away. Her leg grazed mine, and I gasped quietly. Her head turned towards me the slightest bit, and I was convinced she'd heard me. But the moment passed, and we all finished eating in silence.

"So…" Jackson said, breaking the silence. "What are you two up to today?" He said in a very perverted way while wiggling his eyebrows. Honestly, I was going to kill that boy.

I looked at Lilly. "You wanna hang out today? Or you could go home…?"

"Do you want me to go home?" She asked slyly.

I laughed. "No. Whatever you want."

"Hem, hem." Jackson did a fake cough. "If you two would like to acknowledge that you're not the only ones in the room…" He laughed.

I punched his shoulder. "Shut up Jackson. Go somewhere else." He obliged, leading Sarah away by the hand.

"So," Lilly said, reclining, "What are we doing today?"

"Let's go down to the beach. It should be fun."

"Alright." She looked away from me, so she missed the mischievious smile on my face.

Walked together down to the beach. Lilly said she knew a great spot on the beach to go to, so we were heading that way, and had just passed Rico's when Oliver bounded up. He put his arm around Lilly, and a fire burned in my stomach. "Hey Lils." He turned his attention to me, looking me over. I was only wearing shorts and a bikini top. "And who's this?"

"That's Miley you donut." She said tonelessly. "You've already met her." I guess having Oliver around meant she was going to keep being distant. Somehow, I was going to change that today.

Oliver's eyes ran me over again, pausing somewhere below my shoulders. "It's nice to meet you Miley." He said in an overly nice voice. "I don't believe we've been formally introduced." He dragged out the word formally. "I'm smokin' Oaken, at your service." He let go of Lilly, moving to walk between us. He was closer than I would have liked. I vaguely wished I had worn a shirt or something. Lilly hadn't looked at me since I'd changed anyway. "So," he asked, keeping up the pretense that he didn't know me. "You new?"

"You know she's new Oliver. She sits with us at lunch!"

"Oh yea!" He looked at me again. "She just looks so different…"

"Get out of here Oliver." She grabbed his shirt and swung him away from us.

He laughed as he walked away. "What? I'm just trying to make more friends."

"I think you have enough of those kinds of 'friends.' Go find one."

"Alright Lilly-pop." He laughed. "Call me later, and we'll hang out."

"Ok Ollie. See you." He sauntered away. "He is such a ham." She said to me. I gave her a skeptical look. She looked at me just in time to catch it. "What? He's my best friend."

The fire burned in my stomach again. Jealousy, I realized. "Why?"

"That's just how it's always been. Like, this weird thing happened in preschool."

"What?" I asked, curiously.

"Well," She suddenly seemed nervous, and that was something I couldn't comprehend. She was always so sure of herself. When I was four Oliver and I went to the same preschool. And, during naptime the teacher left the room. And this girl and I were still awake. Her name was Lauren, I think. Lauren James." She had said 'I think,' but to me, she sounded completely sure. "And that day, we were kissing during nap time. Just little kid kisses. But this one boy was awake, and he told everyone. Lauren and I were tortured. Lauren moved, but I couldn't. So the kids kept picking on me, until on day during class, Oliver stood up for me, and pushed down the biggest bully in the class. He got in trouble, but we've been best friends ever since." She finished, with the air of a person who was telling a story for the first time.

"Wow. Kids are cruel."

"No kidding."

"So…" I smiled to myself. "You kissed a girl?"

"Oh shut up." She hit me with her towel. "I didn't know any better."

"And do you know better now?" I knew I was pushing it, but next time she might not be so open.

"Well yeah." She looked me in the eyes. "Do you?"

"Do I what?" I asked, though obviously I knew what she was talking about.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you kiss girls?"

My heart skipped into overtime. I totally set this trap for myself. "No, I don't." Of course, I'd never met a girl I wanted to kiss as badly as Lilly. I wished she would look at me for more than a second. I was beginning to think she was just being my friend out of pity.

"We're here." She pulled me out of my thoughts. I hadn't realized we were walking so far, but now we were far enough out that there was no one on the part of the beach we were on. She threw down her towel, and I dropped my bag. She pulled off her tank top, exposing her bare stomach and her bikini underneath.

My breath caught in my throat, and it seemed as if she was moving in slow motion, as each of her abs tightened and flexed while she pulled her shirt over her head. Her skin was perfectly tan, and disrupted only by a dark shape near her pants.

"What are you looking at?" She asked self consciously, jerking me from my mindless staring.

"Nothing." I dropped my eyes, but quickly brought them up again, taking a step closer to her. "What is that?"

"My tattoo."

"Can I?" I asked, gesturing towards her pants. She gave me a curt nod, and I took it as a yes. I reached towards the waist of her sweatpants, pulling the stretchy band down a little at a time. My one finger went slowly down her skin. Slowly it revealed a tattoo that started on her lower stomach, and went down below her pants. It was a bright red rose with a dark green stem, and the thorns on it appeared to be piercing her skin. There was more to it, but it was getting really low. I looked at her, but she wouldn't meet my eye. "Can I?" I murmured again.

"Sure." She exhaled breathless.

I pulled it down just a little more, and to the side, under the stem, was a black, elegant cursive 'Lilly.' With my other hand I traced over the entire tattoo. I felt goodbumps erupt on her skin, even though it was at least ninety degrees out. She lifted her hand, touched my arm at the elbow, and dragged it down my arm until her hand was over mine. Goosebumps came up all over my arm too. I looked up into her eyes. They were on fire. It was like I could see into her sould. I started to lean in, but then it happened. She closed up again.

Her eyes clouded, and she tensed up. She dropped my hand and took a step back. "Let's just swim." She stepped out of her cutoff sweatpants, and I slipped off my shoes and my shorts. She didn't look at me before she ran and dove into the water. I laid out a towel on the sand, and laid on it. I shut my eyes, conjuring the feel of her skin again and again.


	7. The Nervous Game

Oh look, another chapter. Still short. Sorrry. Read on! Happy Bday Miley!

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I looked around, seeing nothing but the blue around me. My lungs burned, screaming for relief. My hair flew around me, flowing towards the wave that rolled over me. Finally, when I was sure I would drown, o pushed off from the sand and broke the surface. My lungs expanded as I breathed in the sweet, sweet air. I stood up, but the cool air did nothing to soothe my burning skin. I was feverish. I went back underwater in an attempt to erase the feeling of Miley's gentle fingers.

I floated on my back, staring into the sun. I thought of boys I'd been with. Cooper. Hottie Lamodie. He'd been my first. Rico's older brother. He'd been a bundle of Latin Flavor. A wave crashed over me, bringing back my goosebumps. Johnny. He'd been so sweet; he even told me he loved me. And then there'd been that night with Oliver. People did odd things when they were lonely. So, I consoled myself, there was no way I could be that way…Then, I remembered, none of them had worked out.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked casually.

I jumped, and quickly sunk under the water. I came up sputtering. "Don't you know not to sneak up on people like that?"

Miley was quick to answer. "Hey, if you weren't so dang nervous everytime I was around, we wouldn't have this problem."

I scoffed. "You? Make me nervous? Please."

"Really? Prove it." I gave her a look, and she took a step closer. "Are you nervous now?"

My heart jumped. "No." She swirled the water between us with her hands, then stepped even closer.

"How about now?"

"Definitely not." I could barely squeeze the words out of myself.

She moved closer to me, until there was less than an inch between us. "Are you nervous?" I shook my head, afraid my words would betray me. She reached up, running her hand from my shoulder all the way down my arm, renewing my goosebumps. "Now?" I shook my head again.

A small part of my mind, the only part still capable of thought, wondered how far she was willing to go to get me to say yes. She ran her hand from my waist across my stomach, where she let it rest. "Still not nervous," I choked. "You're just-just terrible at this game."

"Oh really?" I nodded at her. She grabbed my arms, pulling me closer to her, until we were flesh on flesh. Instinctively, my arms wanted to wrap around her. She put her face closer and closer to mine, until I could feel her breath on my lips when she spoke. "Nervous now?"

I wondered what the correct answer would be, but 'no' was what I said. And suddenly, she was gone. For a moment I couldn't understand what had happened. But there she was, coming up from under the water.

"I guess I just can't make you nervous." She said wistfully as she back stroked away.

I ducked my head under the water and screamed. I was tingling all over, and burning up even in the cool water, which I was used to by now anyway. I could still feel her all over me, as if our stomachs were still pressed together, her arms, pulling us to each other. I tried to stop it, but my imagination was already in overdrive. I turned towards the beach and covered my face. I heard splashing behind me, but decided to ignore it. I found out how bad an idea that was when Miley's arms wrapped around my shoulders and her legs around my waist. I gasped out of shock, but quickly regained my cool. No strange girl was going to break the walls I'd been putting up for years. "What do you think you're doing?" I asked indifferently, pretending her answer didn't actually matter.

She put her face close to the side of mine. "Why are you always so serious?" I could feel her lips on my ear.

I ignored her question. "What do you want?"

"I want…" She stopped. I wished, for the frst time, that she wasn't hanging on me. I wanted to see her face.

"You want…?" I encouraged.

"Um…to lay on the beach for a while."

"Again?"

"Yep."

"Ok." I waited for her to let go of me, but, if anything, her grip tightened. So I put my hands under her legs and walked to the towels on the beach. She released me, lying down in her back with her arms behind her head. I sat down on the towel next to her, propping myself up with my arms. I let my head fall back, and I looked straight up into the sky. I thought about her arms around my shoulder, her lips grazing my ear.

"What are you thinking about?" Her sweet voice broke my thoughts. I looked down at her, but my her eyes were closed. I studied her face. "Well?"

"I'm not really."

"Not thinking?"

"Nope."

She rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow. "Why don't you just admit it?"

"Admit what?" My heart raced. I had no idea what she was talking about.

She rolled onto her stomach so that she was closer to me. She covered my hand with hers. "You know."

"No. I don't. But I think it's time for me to go home." I pulled on my shorts and gathered up my things. I didn't even stop to pull on my shirt or shorts. A part of me hoped, but she didn't call for me, and I didn't look back. By the time I got to Rico's I was practically ready to run back to her. But what she was implying just wasn't right. I bought a smoothie from Rico, and when I turned around I was surprised to see who was there. Gabe.

He sat at a table by himself, with his head on his hand. I watched him for a while. He was clearly down, so I walked up to him. "Is this seat taken?"

He didn't look up. "Be my guest."

I sat across from him. "What's got you so down?"

"Amber dumped me last night."

"Why?" I was surprised. I had no idea they were dating.

"I don't know. I just don't know." He dropped his head on his arms.

I reached out, putting my hand on his. "It's ok. Or it will be."

He raised his head, giving me a half hearted smile. "Thanks. I think I'm just gonna go home now…"

"You want me to walk with you? I was on my way anyway."

"Yea. That'd be cool."

We walked together in a companionable silence for a few blocks. My house came up before his, so he walked me up to my front door. "Thanks Lilly."

"It's no problem." I stood on my tiptoes to give him a hug, and when I let go, he didn't step back. But, neither did I. He looked into my eyes, and gave me a quick kiss.

"I'm sorry." He looked down in shame. And if I hadn't seen Miley looking out on her porch I would have let it go at that. But I did. And at that point, I was willing to do anything to get the feel of her hands all over me gone. I threw my arms around his neck, kissing him with a reckless abandon I never had, even when we were dating. "Lilly, what-"

"Just kiss me." And he did. His hands roamed over my body, covering all traces of Miley. I pulled back a bit. "Do you want to come inside?" I murmured.

"Yea." I turned to unlock the door. He picked me up, carrying me inside. The last thing I saw over his shoulder before he closed the door was Miley's stricken face. But I pushed it out of my mind. Gabe put me down on the couch, and I pulled him down on top of me, letting him put his hands wherever he wanted. And I told myself I wanted it.

* * *

Afterwards we were lying on the couch with the TV on. We were both naked, but there was a blanket covering from our waists down. He held me close to him, rubbing my back. "I have to go." He said, "It's getting late." He slipped out from under me, looking for his clothes. He turned to me. "I really like this, by the way." And he traced his finger over my tattoo. He got dressed, I stood up, wrapping the blanket around me and following him to the door. "I'll call you later."

"Ok." He kissed me quickly, then set off into the waning afternoon light. I hurried upstairs to take a shower to get the smell of him, the feel of him, off of me.

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Who's disgusted with Lilly? I am. Reviews?


	8. You Don't Know Better

I'm sorry for the long update time and crappy chapter...Enjoy?

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I laid on the ground in the backyard, looking up at the stars. It was technically the same sky I saw at night in Tennessee, so maybe it was the difference in me that accounted for why it seemed so new. I pillowed my head on my arms and relaxed. It had been a long day. Lilly hadn't come back to talk to me, but I had my phone next to me, in hopes that she would at least text me. But she obviously felt the same pull towards me that I did to her. She just didn't know it yet.

"Hey." Or maybe she did. "Jackson said I could find you out here." She sat down next to me.

"Well, he was right." I didn't look at her, because if I was going to keep control of myself, not looking at her was the best way. Sometimes, looking in Lilly's eyes, I got lost. There was a pause. "So what did you do with your afternoon?"

"I um…" She hesitated. I glanced at her, and saw she was staring at the ground. "Look, I know you saw me."

"I did."

"I'm sorry." She sounded so melancholy, I just wanted to comfort her. But from the way she was hugging her knees, I knew she wouldn't take it well.

"It didn't hurt me any." I choked on the words, and for a minute, I imagined that my pain was so strong that the waves of it would wash over Lilly and hurt her as much as they hurt me. My throat tightened up, and I took a moment to control myself and contain the tears. I rolled over, propping myself up on my elbows and looking at her. She looked so down, but I couldn't help but ask. I needed to know if there was hope. "Why did you do it?" Maybe she was lonely, or felt sorry for him.

She fixed her gaze on me. "Because of you."

That one caught me off guard. "What?"

"Today was different. You are different. I don't know what it is about you, but…" She let the sentence hang in the air. "I've been with a lot of guys. Not like a ridiculous amount, but enough. I've dated them, I've slept with a few even." She looked away from me again. "But, I've always been looking for something, and I haven't found it." She looked at me again. There was something in her face I couldn't recognize. "I'm not a lesbian." I let out my breath, disappointed. "But I like you."

A smile broke my face, and I sat up so that I was right next to her. "And I like you, too." I didn't know why, but I whispered it. She looked at me, and I at her. "Are you afraid of this?" I asked her.

She set her jaw. "Yes." And then she kissed me. It wasn't the kind of kiss you see in movies where lips and tongues meet, that you're almost embarrassed to watch. She stroked my cheek with one hand, and the kiss was short and sweet.

"I guess you don't know better." I murmured.

"Then what?"

"Than to kiss girls." I smiled at her, and she smacked me on the arm. But she also smiled back, completely uninhibited.

"Come here." She grabbed me, wrapping me up in her strong arms, and pulling me on her lap.

"It's about time. I wondered if I was going to have to wait forever for you to realize you're in love with me."

"In love?"

"Yep."

"Whatever you say." She kissed me again, then laid down with me on top of her. One of her arms went behind her head, but the other one snaked it's way around my waist, keeping me close to her. I laid my head down on her chest. I could hear her heartbeat, an incredibly quick rhythm. "Your heart is beating so fast." I said to her.

"It's been doing that since I met you. I just didn't know why."

"I bet I do."

"And now, I do too." She kissed the top of my head, then let out a contented sigh. I snuggled into her, but then, she tensed up.

"What?" I asked, worried that she was about to leave me again.

"What now, Miley?" She tried to sit up, but I didn't let her. "What do we tell people? About this? About us?"

My blood ran cold. In all of this, with Lilly and my absurd back and forth, I had not even considered the consequences. I leaned back, ready to jump back from her and run, as if she was suddenly contagious. What would I tell my father? My brother? The school? I was new. And then there was everything else… "I…I don't know. Jackson and my father…" I started to move off of her.

"No Miles." She tightened her arms around me. "Don't run from me already. It was hard enough for me to get to this point. We can move forward from this slowly…can't we?"

She started to shake beneath me, and I worried that she was going to run. The fear that she was on the edge of leaving pulled me back form that same edge. I put my arms back around her. "Yes. We'll get through this. Should we keep this a secret?"

"I think we should start with family."

"Me…me too. But not my father. He won't…handle this well." I stood up, pulling her with me. I reached behind me, searching for her hand, and with it, her support. I led her to the back door.

"So how are we going to do this?"

"Do what?" I asked.

"Do we tell Jackson?"

I looked in through to door. Some of the lights were on. "I don't know."

"Then how about we tell no one until we're absolutely sure of this? Then we can raise eyebrows and turn heads." She smiled at me.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't want to tell anyone either. "Ok." I turned away from her reluctantly, and we went inside.

Jackson and Sarah were sitting together, watching a movie on the couch. He looked up. "Well whaddya know? Lilly is a morning and a night after kind of girl." He laughed as if it was the funniest joke he'd ever had. I wanted to smack him.

"You're an idiot." I muttered, leading the way to my room. I flicked on the lights, and as soon as Lilly shut the door, I threw my arms around her neck. She wrapped her arms around my waist, holding me. I liked the feel of her, and the way she knew I wanted to be held. She kissed me. The door smashed open with a bang, causing Lilly and I to jump apart.

"Ha!" Jackson laughed, pointing at me. "I knew it! Always have." He laughed again. "No wonder you wouldn't get me her number!" Lilly took a step closer to me, putting her arm gently behind my back, barely even touching me.

"And what are you going to do?" She challenged him.

He looked taken aback. "Oh, nothing. I just always knew it."

"Don't tell Dad."

He paled considerably. "That is the last thing I would do." He took a step toward me, resting his hand on my shoulder. "I'm your brother. Love who you want to love." He looked at Lilly. "Especially if you want to love a pretty girl."

"Thanks, I guess." Lilly murmured next to me.

"Yep." He stepped out of the room, but turned back. "_You_ don't tell Dad."

"I won't." He walked away, laughing again. "What an idiot." I said again.

"Who knew it would be that easy to tell Jackson?" Lilly murmured into my ear.

I turned around to her. "I didn't." I kicked the door shut with my foot, and she pulled me towards the bed.

"It's been a long day. I vote we sleep right now, and enjoy this tomorrow." She kissed me on the cheek, wrapping her arms around me. I nestled into her, exhausted from the day of surfing and stress.

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Review please.


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